Chilling out in Brisbane

In Brisbane we traded in Hank for a few nights in a hostel. It wasn't a tearful goodbye, as we were more than ready to ditch the van after another week of constantly being on the go. Australia is so much bigger than we'd imagined, and yes, perhaps we should have heeded the advice of our friends who'd done the trip before us and given ourselves more time to do the drive... But honestly after four or five coastal towns we were thrilled to be back in a bustling city!






We dropped off Hank in the morning and made our way slowly into the heart of Brisbane on foot. The walk was gorgeous, and we took our time getting to the hostel by stopping at the markets and checking out several live artistic performances along the way. On the plus side we found an Australian travel book for Ewan so he could learn more about that Aussie history we keep meaning to get into. On the minus- it was a Bill Bryson book, and he turned out to be very obsessed with all the critters, large and small, that could kill us in Australia. So now everywhere we go, ewan spouts out four or five facts about seemingly harmless animals that can kill us before I can say "damn you Bill Bryson!"- it's all kinds of fun.



Our hostel ended up being a surprising score- it was just a 10 minute walk from the city and the riverfront, and there was a separate guest house for the three double rooms with a shared kitchen and living area to ourselves! We met a lovely Irish couple that was in the same boat as us, traveling around before going back to work and the real world. We also met a young Danish couple who were using their government-issued 900 euros a month salary for being students, to travel during their break. What a life.


The hostel was also only a five minute walk to the local rugby stadium, and it just so happened that the Queensland Reds were playing the night we checked in! So the four of us set out to the game sporting any red we had. The Dutch didnt know a Thing about rugby, and ewan only knew a handful of rules, so we became the default experts for them. Not sure that was entirely healthy for anyone but we had a great time explaining the parts we knew and making up anything we didn't. Queensland slaughtered the South African opponents and I finally figured out what a scrum is- all in all a great night!



The next day we explored Brisbane's beautiful riverfront by bike. This time we were sure to get locks on the bikes, and made sure to stay close in case any queenstown thieves were about. We checked out the man made lagoon - beach street-and soaked up the sun while it lasted. That afternoon the weather took a cloudy turn, so being the cultured couple we are, we visited the musuem of modern art Queensland and pretended to understand the abstract sculpture displays on the guided tour. We lasted an entire two hours before ewan's restless leg syndrome kicked in and we had to leave.






That night we went for a drink with the Irish couple, John and Emma, and ran into Ewans old mate Pedro from UK Elite! I thought it was an incredibly random sighting, but ewan assured me that running into Pedro in a bar anywhere is anything but coincidence. The more we travel the smaller this big ole world seems!




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